So...you're almost there...is everything all set? What do you still have left to do?
Yup, pretty much done! Just counting down the days now!
Here are some of the things I crossed off my to-do list this week (or am continuing to work on crossing off):
- Pick ceremony/cocktail hour music selections
- Return items we've decided not to use to stores
- Decide on & order wedding party/gifts
- Write thank-you's for gifts received in the mail
- Follow up on MIA RSVPs (they were due May 31st)
- Double-check desired hair/makeup services from bridal party, follow up with hair/makeup company, pay the remainder of the balance, and come up with a schedule for the wedding day.
- Come up with an idea for a guestbook and begin executing it
- Gather/order supplies for favors
- Order my wedding ring (Mr. Llama's is already ordered.)
- Price out & weigh pros and gons of buying a DIY program fan kit, versus buying supplies separately and assembling it myself
- Find out who is interested in getting nails done, find a place near Disney that has good reviews at a reasonable price, and make an appointment
- Come up with a script for our non-existent ceremony
- Apply for a Florida marriage license
- Write a couple of blogs (uhh...yeah, that didn't happen...sorry...)
And that's only the beginning.
(Notice I didn't even mention the seating chart. Seriously. We're just going to pretend it doesn't exist, okay? Deal.)
Are these overwhelming projects? Not really. Will any of them make or break the wedding? Probably not (except for the marriage license...don't worry--that one got crossed off!) Does it all have to get done? Yeah, pretty much. When you mention a couple of these things to people not in the "wedding zone", I'm sure it sounds like the kind of list that would get knocked out in a day or two. Almost none of them are as simple as they sound, though.
Picking ceremony music? Well, you'll want to know how many pieces of music you want. Which depends on how long it takes to walk down the aisle. Which means e-mailing our planner, since I can't quite picture how long the aisle is, and where the aisle exactly "starts." When you finally have all those pieces of information, you send over your requests to the instrumentalists, and they might tell you they don't have the sheet music available for those selections.
Deciding on & ordering wedding party gifts? Well, for one, I'm terrible at making decisions. (A vending machine is my worst nightmare.) But then when you do finally make a decision, you find out that the items are coming from China, and the estimated shipping is anywhere from 2 weeks from now, to 2 weeks after the wedding. So then you have to decide if it's worth the risk.
I know--POOR ME. First world problems, right?
Mr. Llama turned to me a few days ago and said, "I didn't realize we still had this much left to do. And I didn't realize there were so many small hidden costs that add up at the end!" No kidding. I knew what was coming, because I know about things like favors & gifts, but this was new to him, and he didn't necessarily realize we still would be paying a sizable chunk of money to pay for things outside of the Disney realm.
So, the next time you ask a soon-to-be-bride if she's finished with everything, it's okay - because yes, all the big stuff is done! - but just know that when you see this face: